Many systems use one or more valves to control fluid flow to or from devices of the system. For example, many engines include fuel injectors, which are valves that control the flow of fuel into combustion chambers of the engine. In order to achieve desirable performance, such systems may require that the valves thereof operate as intended. Accordingly, many valves, including many fuel injectors, are tested for proper operation before they are assembled to a system. Various systems and methods exist for testing valves. Some systems and methods for testing valves include attaching a valve to plumbing, selectively opening the valve to allow fluid flow through the plumbing, and measuring pressure inside the plumbing as an indicator of one or more aspects of the performance of the valve. Unfortunately, when using such a system and method to evaluate the operation of a valve, pressure waves triggered by starting and stopping fluid flow from the valve and reflections of these pressure waves may complicate the process of evaluating the performance of the valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,233 to Toiyama et al. (“the '233 patent”) shows a system for testing the operation of a fuel injector, the system including provisions for damping pressure waves generated when the fuel injector is opened. The system disclosed by the '233 patent includes a fluid-supply system connected to an inlet of the fuel injector. The fluid-supply system includes a fluid reservoir, a pump that draws fluid from the reservoir, and plumbing that directs fluid from the pump to the inlet of the fuel injector. The plumbing that connects the pump to the inlet of the fuel injector includes a volume enlargement chamber disposed slightly upstream of the fuel injector for damping pressure waves generated by opening and closing the fuel injector. The system of the '233 patent also includes a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure in the plumbing upstream of the volume enlargement chamber.
Although the system of the '233 patent includes provisions for damping pressure waves generated by opening and closing the fuel injector, certain disadvantages persist. For example, measuring the pressure upstream of the injector may create the potential for complications in evaluating the performance of the fuel injector because of potential variations in the pressure at which fluid is supplied to the fuel injector. Additionally, while a volume enlargement chamber in the plumbing connected to the fuel injector may help damp pressure waves, some pressure waves generated by opening and closing the fuel injector may still travel through the volume enlargement chamber and reach the pressure sensor.
The valve-testing system and methods of the present disclosure solve one or more of the problems set forth above.